Review: The Rainmaker (1956)

IMDb Synopsis: Lizzie Curry is on the verge of becoming a hopeless old maid. Her wit and intelligence and skills as a homemaker can't make up for the fact that she's just plain. Even the town sheriff, File, for whom she harbors a secrect yen, won't take a chance --- until the town suffers a drought and into the lives of Lizzie and her brothers and father comes one Bill Starbuck ... profession: Rainmaker.


For no particular reason, I really enjoy watching films adapted from plays. Some of the best ones include A Streetcar Named Desire, 12 Angry Men and The Petrified Forest. The Rainmaker was adapted from the N. Richard Nash play and stars Katharine Hepburn and Burt Lancaster in the title role. A lot of reviews for this film are mixed, but I really enjoyed it.


I personally think a lot of people miss the point of The Rainmaker. The fact that it's a bit over-the-top and unbelievable at times it what gives it so much depth. Most of us have probably heard the term that you have to love yourself before anyone else can love you in return, and that's exactly what this film is about: Hepburn plays a repressed woman who fears she'll remain a spinster for the rest of her life, and Lancaster is the man who finally makes her believe in herself.


Some of the more skeptical viewers may find The Rainmaker to be unrealistic, but I thought it was quite lovely and inspiring. At least give it a viewing before you judge.

5/5 stars